Friday, 22 July 2011

South African Jazz 78rpm Mix

A delicious salad of 50s and 60s South African jazz lovingly digitised from 78rpm records and tossed into one continuous mix for your enjoyment. Quite a few of these records were found in a pile of 78s I picked up in Port Elizabeth at the end of last year. Port Elizabeth and surrounds are well represented by the P.E. Sisters, The Gaiety Brothers and the Merry Basies. The Ritz Band of P.E. did not make it this time round. among the 23 tracks there is a sprinkle of marabi, bop, vocal harmonies and jive. Durban is represented by Herb Manana and His Gals, along with Betty Khoza and friends; you will also enjoy a dash of early Masekela with theFather Huddlestone Band, and a hidden juicy offering from Chris McGregor and His Blue Notes. Enjoy!

thanks to all involved in sharing this.Bit like getting an ol'fashioned mixed tape! A lovely thought but frustating in that I can't easily dip into it to focus on and enjoy my favourite bits....None the less great to access music I might not have heard otherwise. Thanks !

Thanks for all the comments. Re: the "mixtape" route, I understand the preference for individual tracks - I have noticed that someone has lifted 50s music that electricjive has shared and re-packaged it for sale at various 'reputable' download sites - being older than fifty years old, there is tenuous claim to original rights that may have existed. Informed by our own motives in sharing, I decided to respond by misixng the music up a bit. I do not feel great about someone freeloading, and making money from some rare records that I have paid good money for, and then taken time and trouble to digitise and share. I hope you understand. Best wishes. Chris Albertyn

Re the C McG / BB 1963 sessions - As far as I know my "little bird" doesn't have the tracks (just verified information that they exist), and the other four have not leaked online to my knowledge. So no link will be coming from this source of info.

@chrisI really appreciate your response re the mix issue ....kind of makes sense of leaving comments to be able to enjoy open dialogue . Ok well, all I can say is that I now understand your reasoning better (and irritation and frustration!) and apologise if I sounded churlish or picky. Truth is I have save downloaded and enjoyed several of the posts saving many tracks and deleting a few that I did not enjoy quite as much as others but still VERY grateful for the exposure. All in the spirit of this blog I hope. Much of the accompanying wordage has broadened my knowledge and increased my interest. Thanks a million!

We are only too happy to get comments and feedback, even if you feel it might be critical - no 'pickiness or churlishness' felt on this end :-). Thanks for the support in spreading the good music and ensuring it does not become lost.

Thanks for the kind words of encouragement escomambo. Be sure to stay tuned - there are some nice surprises in store this year .. including a sound-desk recording of the last Chris McGregor/Blue Notes concert that took place in South Africa before they left the country